Kerala has adjusted well to the modern life but they all still follow the typical beliefs and traditions.
Birth: In Kerala if a child is born the celebrations will be very grand. After about twenty eight days of a Hindu child’s birth the Namakaranam or naming ceremony takes place, during the ceremony the baby is placed on the father’s lap. The father will whisper the child’s name into the right ear.
At six months the child is taken to the temple for a ceremony known as Chorunu. The child will taste solid food for the first time in front of the statue of lord Ganesha. Each family member takes a turn in feeding rice and curry to the child. Srikrishna temple at Guruvayur is a common place in which the Chorunu ceremony takes place in.
Muslims celebrated the birth of a child by whispering a prayer into the baby’s ears very gently.
Christian families celebrate the birth of a child by the ceremony of christening or baptism. The Baptist pours blessed water over the forehead of the child (this symbolizes purification). The ritual is believed to cleanse the child so that it can also be included in the church community and to give the child a name, usually one related to Christianity, such as a Christian saint. In Kerala examples of such names could be Miriam or Chacko (Jacob). Some Christians in Kerala whisper the child’s name and the name of Jesus into the child’s ear.
Marriage: marriage is a very important twist that occurs in one’s life. Parents usually have a hard time in finding a suitable partner for their son or daughter. The elements that one usually asks for are; a good job, a good part in the society, education, a good character and good looks. Each community has its own rituals and beliefs, but there is one common practice that takes place in both the Hindu and Christian religion, the tali kettu ceremony or the simply the tali tying ceremony. The tali tying ceremony includes the tying of a thread by the groom around the bride’s neck. In Christian wedding the thread will have a cross.
Death: According to Hindus, death is being split from physical reality. The death rituals can take up to fifteen days. The method for the disposal of the body in the Hindu religion is usually burning the body because to is said to be the quickest way to release the spirit from any links with earth. On the death body is rubbed with sandal paste and blessed ashes. It is then places in a sheet of leaves. The eldest son lights the fire and the body will be burnt in to ashes. On the fifth day after the cremation, a ceremony named Sanchayanam takes place, during this ceremony the relatives of the person who died turns up to collect the remaining ashes. The remaining is put in a pot and is placed in the relatives’ garden. During this time people will come to pay respect to the person who passed away. The ashes will eventually be released into a sacred river.
Christians in Kerala believe that the time before death is a time for understanding with relative, friends and even God. With the body facing towards the east, the priest spreads each of the senses with oil. Prayers are chanted thanking the person and asking for forgiveness for the person’s life and asking for a peaceful life after death. After this the body is buried and the priest goes to the person’s house where only vegetarian food is eaten.
On the death of a Muslim the body is dressed in new white clothes, and is sprinkled with rose water, the mullah (religious leader or teacher) goes to the house to recite the holy Koran. The body is placed facing the Mecca and during the rituals the Mullahs usually continue to read the holy Koran. In the days after the funeral it is compulsory for friends and relatives to donate money.
This is the onasadya, as you can see it is served on a banana leaf. The sadya is also eaten during the Hindu, Malayalee weddings.
Sadhya: Sadhya is a traditional vegetarian meal of Kerala. The meal is usually served as lunch; the Sadhya will consist of par boiled rice, curries, pickles, savories and desserts.The Sadhya is usually served on a banana leaf. The belief is that the pointy end of the leaf should face the left of the guest and the rice should be served on the lower half of the leaf.
The meal begins by the serving of Parippu, which is a liquid curry made of small gram and ghee. The second thing is Sambhar, which a very famous south Indian vegetable stew. Avail is another side dish that is a mix of vegetables, coconut paste and green chilies. Immediately after the Avial is ready it is topped with a spoon of fresh coconut oil and raw curry leaves.
Some of the other main side dishes are Thoran, and Olan. Thoran can consist of string beans, cabbage, and radish, mixed with grated coconut and a bit of red chilies and turmeric powder. Olan is a dish that has pumpkin, and red grams cooked in diluted coconut milk.
The savories include Upperi, Pappadam, ginger pickle, Pachadi and Kichadi. Upperi is fried banana chips. Pappadams are yellow, sun dried sheet of black gram flour.
Desserts are served about halfway through the meal. Payasam is a thick liquid pudding of brown molasses, coconut milk and spices, topped with cashew nuts and raisins. There are different types of Payasams like Palada pradhaman, Semya pal payasam, Parippu Pradhaman and so on.
It is optional to have a small ripe yellow banana after the payasam. After having the Payasams, rice is served again. This time instead of Sambhar it is Rasam that is served. Rasam is a mixture of chilly and pepper boiled in diluted tamarind juice. Along with all this a curry named Kaalan is also served, this dish consists of buttermilk with turmeric powder and green chilies, and plain sour buttermilk.
Kathakali: Kerala is famous for kathakali, which is usually performed by male dancers in temples. Kathakali is a classical dance that uses detailed makeup and colorful costumes. The traditional Kathakali costume consists of head gear, a skirt and countless ornaments. During some performances the artists would play characters from the Hindu Ramayana or Mahabharata. The performance is almost like a play where the characters from the story have fully got into the artists. The movements in kathakali have to be extremely graceful, especially the movements of the hands, eyes and legs. Chenda (traditional drum) and one or two singers accompany the artists by narrating the story in the form of a song.
Mohiniyattam: Mohiniyattam is a classical dance that has very graceful movements that are very slow. Mohiniyattam is performed only by women. The dance is quite similar to Kathakali and Bharathanatyam. The catchiest part of the dance is the eye movements and the grace.
Thirvathirakali/ kaikottikali: a famous group dance performed during Onam. The dance is performed by married women and the all dance around in circles.
Kolkali: Kolkali is a dance that has to have sharp movements and does not have a lot of flow work. The props used in this dance are sticks. The dance is usually performs by a group of 24 dancers who move in circle.